Advice please.. Repeat doc visits with dd, to no avail..

Hi everyone, thanks for reading in advance.. My dd has been diagnosed with asthma recently and has been given the blue and brown inhalor. She is constantly ill with colds and coughs and has had her latest cough for well over a week now. I had her to the docs again last week and she doesnt/hasnt even hardly ever examined her chest?.. she just suggested that we should up her brown inhalor too 3 times a day when she is ill. She had mon,tues,wed off schoollast wek and coughed her way still through thurs and fri, as due to the pressure from school regarding attendance, i was frightened to keep her at home any longer and dont like her missing school so much myself anyway, but i cant dictate when and how ill she will be, nor wave a magic wand to make it disappear. She eats a balanced diet and i try to get plenty of vitamins etc in my kids. I clean to keep away the dust and germs and change bedding etc regularly, try to get as much fresh air and excersize as possible, i just cant seem to win and dont know what else i can do.. Im at my witts end listening to my dd, constantly coughing all day and night, more often than not and i just dont seem to be listened to at the docs, any advice please???

Yes, we have a dog, 2 gerbils (just recently) and fish!!.. Do you think perhaps i should have her tested for an allergy?.. The strange thing is, she can also be clear of anything for up to about 3/4 weeks too?.. Which i presumed excluded the allergy thing?.. She has been clear for the lat 4 weeks prior to the illnes she presantly has, then all of a sudden its back to square one..

I think you need to see another doctor who takes you seriously and push for a referral to a paediatrician! Your daughter's asthma is clearly not under control, even with her brown preventers and it's stopping her from getting on with her life. There are other and additional drugs that could be tried.

Also I'd really recommend getting in touch with Asthma UK, give them a call and discuss it so you can go to your Drs armed and prepared. It's shocking treatment!

As for allergies, again that's something to be discussed with the relevant dr. My DD has multiple allergies and asthma - but our paediatrician told us not to give up our cat as the desesitisation will benefit her in the long term (opinions vary widely on this!!) My DD is severely allercic to bird dander and dog licks so we'd never have these as pets though!

My son had very severe asthma until 3 and now moderate. A cough can be just as serious as a weaze. I think you should get you daughter seen by another doctor. I find with gp's the younger the better as they are more up to date in the handling of asthma. If you not happy keep pushing. Has she had a course of steriods, do you have a asthma management plan?

My son has had a winter like this and but he wasn't on a brown inhaler. He missed a lot of nursery and I was concerned about school next year. However he got put onto the brown inhaler and has been much better since. He has hardly needed the blue one even when ill, whereas he had been overdosing on the blue before having it. He's had slightly fewer colds since the brown one and he has managed to continue going to nursery when having the cough as the symptoms have been milder. So to me I would think that your daughter's isn't been well-controlled whereas my son's has been if you see what I mean so I would ask to see a paed now. Like you I feed my son the best diet I can, keep in healthy in other ways (fresh air and sleep) and it is so frustrating but I guess it just the way it is. Hopefully they are getting these bugs out of their system and so they will be more immune in the future! Also, school should not be pressuring you about her attendance. I am a teacher and whilst attendance is an issue, genuine issues should not go against you. Please don't send her in if you feel she is not well enough! We do find children in the younger years (not sure how old she is) have more time off until their immune systems get stronger. I know you will want her not to miss out but honestly if she isn't up to concentrating then don't send her and have the confidence as a parent to judge - don't be bullied by the school (this makes me cross, can you tell?!)

How old id your LO? I have recently posted about asthma as both my LO's suffer. My DS sounds much like yours - my DS has cough variant asthma. Cough is his only symptom. When he was 3 1/2 he had a chest infection and the cough associated with this just never went. It would slightly improve and then get horrendous again and then just turn into this constant tickley throat sounding cough every few minutes (which would drive me insane!). We tried everything - humidifiers, allergy reducing measures, constant dusting and vacuuming, cough syrups etc. We were back and forth to our doctor near constantly (every few weeks). He was getting an awful lot of colds and they insisted it was just a cough from back-to-back colds causing the lingering cough! Finally after 18 months and near breaking point a doctor FINALLY suggested it might be asthma (this was February 11). He was started on clenil and given a ventolin inhaler too - but unfortunately the gp kept upping and downing the dose from 1 puff to 2 daily, back down again then none, and we never really got on top of the cough - it would still be there most of the time. Finally in November we started to see the asthma nurse at our gp surgery (she did his flu jab and said why the heck hadn't the doctor referred him to her before!!) She put him on 2 puffs of brown twice a day and 2-4 puffs of ventolin 4 hourly if he has a cold (or as needed if the cough was bad). This has helped - it's not cured it yet - he had a really bad episode in Dec and again in last month - but the difference is we are getting some cough free time inbetween episodes and the severity of coughing wouldn't be as bad for so long. In his reception year at school he had 2-3 days off every half term due to cough related illness - yet 2 1/2 terms into his year 1 and he's had 2 days off all year - so definitely better I's say. The asthma nurse is considering adding Singulair (Montelukast) into his asthma plan because she feels his cough is still there just a little too often and flares a little too much with every cold. I did have my reservations - but as DD has just been in hospital for an asthma attack and started on this drug - I'm more inclined to trial it.

I agree that it is best to see someone who specialises in asthma care - there is alot of new research being done and it is best to see someone who is at the forefront of this knowledge. Asthma uk is a great web site - and definitely phone their advise line - they are trained asthma nurses who will listen and answer any query (trust me - I phone them alot!!)

Thankyou so much to everyone who has replied, i am very grateful, it is really distressing!! I just hate the thought of her suffering and feeling useless to be able to do anything to help.. I have listened to her coughing bouts in the night last night, to the point where she was being sick this morning. I have sent her to school, as she came around and seemed well with-in herself. I do hope they would request for us to collect her, if they thought that she wasnt really fit to be there?!.. She is just turned 5 by the way and has had this on and off since she was two!!.. She was clear of it for quite some time when we first moved though, as the first cause was damp in the old house, hence the move.. the new warmer, dryer atmosphere helped for a while, then it started again when she started her new nursery and has gradually got worse, on and off.. itsthe on and off bit what puzzles me the most?! Its so upsetting, i just want her to be cough free, for most of the time, not just some..

I have booked an appointment with her GP for this afternoon and i am going to request that she is tested for allergies and to be referred to the asthma clinic/nurses. I am going to get something sorted for my dd if its the last thing i do!!!
Again, thank you all so much and to those of you going through the same/similar thing, best of luck to all of you too. xxx

Thankyou so much to everyone who has replied, i am very grateful, it is really distressing!! I just hate the thought of her suffering and feeling useless to be able to do anything to help.. I have listened to her coughing bouts in the night last night, to the point where she was being sick this morning. I have sent her to school, as she came around and seemed well with-in herself. I do hope they would request for us to collect her, if they thought that she wasnt really fit to be there?!.. She is just turned 5 by the way and has had this on and off since she was two!!.. She was clear of it for quite some time when we first moved though, as the first cause was damp in the old house, hence the move.. the new warmer, dryer atmosphere helped for a while, then it started again when she started her new nursery and has gradually got worse, on and off.. itsthe on and off bit what puzzles me the most?! Its so upsetting, i just want her to be cough free, for most of the time, not just some..

I have booked an appointment with her GP for this afternoon and i am going to request that she is tested for allergies and to be referred to the asthma clinic/nurses. I am going to get something sorted for my dd if its the last thing i do!!!
Again, thank you all so much and to those of you going through the same/similar thing, best of luck to all of you too. xxx

Hi, sorry you are having such a battle getting your daughter's asthma treated. I insisted for 3 years that my daughter was asthmatic but no-one would take me seriously until we ended up calling an ambulance one night!

Am not sure anyone else has asked this but are you giving her an antihistamine (like Benadryl) at the moment? Maybe she also has hayfever-as you say it can be good one week and bad the next?

My dd has asthma, and various allergies-hayfever being one of them. I eventually got a blood test to confirm the extent of her allergies and found it helpful-mostly so SHE could see what she was allergic to instead of accusing me of making it up.(she is now a teen!)

I agree with others advising you insist on a second opinion and referral to an asthma nurse. Also agree Asthma uk are great. They were the only help I had for a long time. I would also make sure her chest is checked for a chest infection. My dd regularly got bronchitus for three summers running from her severe grass allergy and untreated asthma.

Good luck today.xx

Last edited by Dawn R(168); 18-06-12 at 09:53.

18-06-12, 10:07#14

Catherine J(166)

[QUOTE=barbara d(3);7863521]My son had very severe asthma until 3 and now moderate. A cough can be just as serious as a weaze. I think you should get you daughter seen by another doctor. I find with gp's the younger the better as they are more up to date in the handling of asthma. If you not happy keep pushing. Has she had a course of steriods, do you have a asthma management plan?[/QUOTE

You should be having regular appointments scheduled with an asthma nurse - most group practices have one - and have you been given a peak flow meter so you can monitor her lung capacity daily: it's a really useful tool and can highlight when a bad episode is on the way.

I would second what other posters have said, you must go back to the GP and be more pushy (you really should not have been put in this position in the first place). Asthma UK are indeed a great help and will give you up to date sound advice and information: their phone lines are manned by qualified asthma nurses.

In the meantime if you are getting nowhere with the GP, we had to go to the out of hours unit at our local hospital after we moved because some mould we had not spotted in our son's new bedroom caused a really bad episode. They were great, doctors really on the ball and prescribed steroid tablets which sorted him out very quickly. If you are not satisfied with what the surgery does today, I would wait until the after hours service kicks in and ring them or call NHS Direct who can also refer you to the nearest unit.

Don't want to worry you any more than you already are, but asthma is very dangerous if it isn't controlled properly and your little one's treatment so far is just not good enough.

With the right treatment, she will be well again, you just need to find someone who knows what they're doing and I'm afraid it doesn't sound like your GP does.

I could have written your post as we are going through an almost identical senario at the moment.

I have a 2 year old son, who has had a constant cough now for about 8 months. During the winter months, I pretty well ignored it, as he had cold after cold at the same time, and despite being wheezy at times, I didn't take him to the gp due to past experience of being told "oh, its viral, give calpol" etc etc

Fast forward to March of this year. All cold symptoms had vanished, and stayed away for 6 weeks by this point. The cough was still with us, but had developed a pattern of only being at night and during exertion. At this point, we went to gp who said it sounded like classic asthma, but at just 2, its too hard to diagnose. He gave us ventolin to use at night and the sudden improvement was dramatic. Still coughing during exertion though. We went back and saw asthma nurse a week later who also said she thought it was asthma, and introduced the steroid inhaler - clenil. We used that along with ventolin for a week, then on her direction, withdrew the ventolin. We went straight back to square one, so ventolin was reintroduced, morning and night, and several times during the day as well. After a couple of weeks things seemed to settle, so ventolin was slowly removed again. Hooray, no coughing at all, thought we'd cracked it, asthma nurse said we could wean off clenil in 3 months, all seemed well in the world - until 4 days later.

The cough was back, but worse than ever, when he wasn't coughing, his whole chest vibrated, we were up every 4 hours at night giving ventolin only to get a couple of hours relief in return. After 7 days of no improvement, I got an emergency appt with nurse, who doubled the dose of clenil. 5 days on, no real improvement, so went back to see same nurse who said she didn't know what to do now and sent us down to see the duty doctor.
Duty doctor hadn't read any of his notes, so had to start right at the beginning. I probably missed bits out, and got the impression that she wasnt convinced as his chest was clear and he hardly coughed in the surgery. She did however prescribe montelukast tablets to start as well as sticking with clenil and ventolin.

That is a very long summary of an even longer story - and I just don't know what to think now. My little one doesn't look ill at all, he is like any other active toddler, but this cough hinders him so much, he can't walk up the high street, bounce on the bed, be tickled, run round, cry or sleep through without coughing- sometimes til he's sick. And it seems to be getting worse, despite what they try.

We did a few days of the montelukast tablets, and they made no difference whatsoever, so Ive stopped giving them to him as loading him up with meds that have no effect seems a bit pointless. They made him even more unsettled at night, really hyper, then waking up as though he was having bad dreams....

I havent really got a clue where to go from here. We are going abroad tomorrow so hoping warm climate and sea air will be good for him, then think I'll get him in to see our family GP when we get home for a 4th opinion!!

It really is a nightmare, I know how you feel, all I can say is keep pushing til its sorted, thats what I think I'm going to have to do....

My dd who is 9 was exactly as you have described your little one - it was a battle and now she is the healthiest she has ever been, - after a year of coughs, colds, chest infections, throat infections etc etc ( the list is endless) my dd was finally tested for asthma at age 6, she has it only mildly but i pushed for allergy tests, again a battle but so worth it - my dd shown to have very mild allergy to cats, dogs, dust and mostly tree!!!! my dd had thses illnesses due to very mild allergies let alone serious allergies - i would defo push for blood allergy tests - once we knew this i did this-

anti allergy bedding and pillows, tonic vitamin drops - best you can get to help poorly kids - i got an air ironiser for my dd bedroom, sometime opeining bedroom widows can make it worse! we saw ear nose and throat specialist too , if my dd gets a slight cough now, - i dont rush to docs i increased her brown inhaler intake myself, - she is now under control and discharged from pediatrics and has improved soo much

Wow, thanks again everybody, once again it helps to know that we are not the only ones going through the same thing, but awful also really, cos' i know what you are all going/been through!! So glad to here that some people are seeing the other side too, that is encouraging.. Yes, i will push for blood allergy tests today and decide what to do regarding pets etc upon the results.. i do quite firmly believe that pets are good for children and i think she would find losing them heart breaking, as would we! but of course, our dd's health comes first and if it shows that she has an allergy to our pets, then of course, we would have to do something about it. Thanks so much again everyone and those of you in the sameposition, stick to your guns!!! and keep pushing for help, thats what i am intent on doing at the moment.. All your advice is highly appreciated, thankyou. x

Saw the GP, she actually examined her chest!!.. which she said was clear, she refused to give her blood tests for allergy and said we would try that, if piriton doesnt work, as she thinks it may be hayfever, aswell as the asthma. Im going to give it 5 days tops, which i think is plenty of time for it to work, if still no result, i am going to return.. again.. if still no joy, im changing surgery. I have to give her/ things chance to have an effect, before i swop GP..
She also stated upon my request to be referred to the asthma clinic/nurse, that they couldnt do any more than she is doing, which i still beg to differ- so i am going to contact asthma uk. Thanks again all.. Coughing still through last night, but shes only had one dose, hope it does work?!!..

I would go back and ask to see a specialist. Slightly different but my DD has had a skin rash for ten weeks. We have been to the docs 6 times (and seen six different docs) and we have an appointment with a dermatologist next week to hopefully get to the bottom of it!